Today we are going to talk about a type of mushroom that is quite good in gastronomy but that is not very appreciated because the meat wants bluish colors when it is cut. Its about boletus badius. It is also known by the common name of boleto un bayo and belongs to the class of basidiomycetes. Like other tickets like the (link) they take on a blue hue when cut or handled.
In this article we are going to tell you all the secrets of boletus badius so you can collect it without any fear.
Key features
As we know, wild mushrooms are widely used in cuisine around the world. It is easy to be grown in home gardens but some, such as truffles, do not have that facility. Not all wild mushrooms are fit for human consumption. Therefore, we must know how to differentiate well what type of mushroom we are going to eat before avoiding any problems. Some of them can be toxic just by tasting them and others can eliminate their toxicity if they are cooked.
To avoid poisoning with any type of fungus, knowing the species is the best way to know if it is edible or not. The boletus badius It belongs to the order of the Boletales and to the Boletaceae family. His hat has dimensions between 7-15 centimeters with a velvety texture that becomes viscous when the weather is wet. It has a lot of meat and an irregular hemispherical shape. This hat becomes flat when the specimen has reached adulthood.
Its skin cannot be separated easily and it has a brown or brown color. Sometimes we can find individuals of this species with a color reaching black. Its foot can measure up to 12 centimeters high and 4 wide. It becomes a lighter color than the hat and its fibers are longitudinal with a brown color.
It has a firm type of meat with a color between white and yellow. It is when it is cut that a light bluish color can be appreciated. This color is responsible for many people not despising in the culinary field. As it turns blue, it gives the impression that it is a toxic species for human consumption.
Most common confusions of the boletus badius
Due to the similarity it had in morphology as well as in the fact of turning blue when it is cut, the most inexperienced can confuse it with other species of tickets. The main ones that are most confused are the Boletus edulis and Boletus pinophilus. These two do not blue when cut and also have larger pores. These are indicators to be able to differentiate them when collecting.
In the case of Boletus edulis we can see that the base of the foot is a little wider than that of the Boletus badius.
Properties of the boletus badius
Although they have been despised for their blue coloration that it acquires when the meat is cut or pressed, this fungus has many properties. The first thing is that it has a good supply of vitamins. Provides slightly less protein than boletus eduliyes but has better content of B complex vitamins. Of this complex, the vitamins with the highest concentration are B1, B2 and B6.
They have a large amount of antioxidants. Among them we find polyphenols, flavonoids, vitamin C, vitamin E, B-carotenes and tocopherols. All of these help with antioxidant properties both inside and outside of our body. These properties make it interesting to include this type of species in any diet.
In addition, for those people who are in a process of losing fat, the boletus badius contributes to lipid metabolism. To aid in the burning of fat, it acted as a chelating agent and inhibits lipid peroxidation and the bleaching of B-carotenes. Some studies have shown that it has a better antioxidant action than other species studied.
There are also other studies that affirm that this type of mushroom has typical properties of tea consumption. This is due to they have an important amino acid called theanine. This species of mushroom has been shown to have large amounts of this theanine. This gives it typical properties of tea consumption.
Thanks to the discovery of the presence of this amino acid in this species, in recent years attention has increased towards the physiological effects and the pharmacological applications that it can provide. Theanine has relaxing effects on the body, reducing blood pressure and inhibiting the negative effects that caffeine produces in our body. It also has an anticancer activity and stimulates the brain and metabolic activity of the body.
All these properties make the boletus badius be a good option to include in any type of diet on a regular basis.
Habitat and distribution
The bay boletus appear during the summer season and later in the fall. It grows symbiotically with various tree species forming associations. It can also behave like a saprophyte. If collected when they are young and the foot and tubes are removed they are considered to be of fairly good quality. However, they are inferior to other tickets. It can be consumed both raw and cooked. This is something that cannot be done with many of the edible mushrooms.
It usually grows on the floor of coniferous forests, although we can also see them in deciduous forests and especially in logs that are already rotten. These logs serve as the basis for storing enough moisture so that they can develop properly. It prefers in acid soils to the point that you cannot find them in calcareous soils.
Its natural range is in temperate zones of Eurasia and North America. If the weather is too cold, you will lose quality in your meat. They have been adapted to different habitats and terrains so we can find them both in conifers and under deciduous trees. It falls short of the culinary quality of, for example, the Boletus edulis.
I hope that with this information you can get to know the boletus badius so as not to confuse it when collecting it.